Kioxia and SanDisk to invest $31 billion in Japan memory production

Kioxia and SanDisk have announced plans to invest approximately $31 billion (5 trillion yen) in Japan through 2032 to expand flash memory production capacity. The investment, which is subject to government support, aims to bolster infrastructure at Kioxia’s Yokkaichi and Kitakami plants.

The capital commitment is designed to meet the surging demand for high-performance, power-efficient NAND flash memory driven by artificial intelligence and data-intensive applications. This expansion will support the production of advanced 3D flash memory required for large-scale AI workloads in modern data centers.

Kioxia and SanDisk have maintained a joint development and manufacturing partnership for over 25 years, during which they have invested more than $50 billion in Japan. Kioxia CEO Hiroo Ota stated that the investment underscores the company’s commitment to an AI-driven society and aims to maintain global competitiveness against rivals such as Samsung and SK Hynix.